It’s called “pig butchering” but it has nothing to do with a slaughterhouse.
The term refers to a certain scam that fraudsters use to cheat cryptocurrency investors, according to a November 10 complaint bulletin from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau that analyzes a rise in crypto-asset complaints.
“Our analysis of consumer complaints suggests that bad actors are leveraging crypto-assets to perpetrate fraud on the public,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a statement. “Americans are also reporting transaction problems, frozen accounts, and lost savings when it comes to crypto-assets.”
Chopra said people should be wary of anyone seeking upfront payment in crypto-assets, since this may be a scam.
The agency said that many consumers had issues with accessing funds in their account due to outright platform failures, identity verification issues, security holds, or because of technical issues with platforms.
FTX Collapse Slams Sector
The complaint bulletin comes at a time when crypto investors are still reeling from the downfall of the FTX cryptocurrency exchange. FTX’s former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, 30, resigned on Nov. 11.
He was replaced as CEO by John J. Ray, known for being the liquidator of disgraced brokerage Enron.
“While the scale of the financial losses is jaw-dropping, perhaps even bigger is the hit to crypto’s reputation as a reputable asset class,” said Dan Ashmore, crypto analyst at CoinJournal.
“These events could not be a better reminder of the dangers…
